Adapt Projects

 

 

Into Work in Care

 

Aim

This project will support unemployed (including those in part-time employment/insecure employment under 16hrs per week) returners and economically inactive people gain and keep jobs in the care sector. The LCC will co-ordinate new local delivery of programmes, which take beneficiaries through;
•  Initial guidance and labour market awareness, leading to an individual action plan which an individual mentor will then support throughout the programme.
•  Key skills training, including numeracy/literacy skills/IT.
•  Vocational training leading to awards.
•  Work experience.
•  Management of the next step into employment.

Objectives

This project will support unemployed/inactive people undertake short courses, gain qualifications for employment in care, enter jobs and keep these jobs through a programme which combines basic and key skills, vocational training, work experience, support in job search and aftercare.
It will achieve this through the following SMART objectives:
•  Awareness raising and recruitment activities.
•  Undertaking a range of short and taster courses
•  Running three cycles of 20 week flexible training programmes (non-synchronous)
•  Supporting job search and entry to employment, and delivery of aftercare over the project period.
•  Carrying out an evaluation and review and sharing results with Colleges, the LSC plus employers.

Activity

The LCC will co-ordinate local delivery by Colleges, using local learning centres and specialist college facilities. We will make use of the extensive network of community partnerships including those built up through Integra and ESF to reach the target group, and employer networks to support job placement and continued in work learning.

The delivery stages are:
Stage One
1 - Taster Courses, Guidance, Labour Market Awareness, Needs Analysis and Action Planning
2 - Pre-vocational basic/key skills training where this is required
3 - A training programme leading to a Level 1 or 2 award or units/underpinning knowledge. This will be delivered on a flexible basis supported by College VLEs, combining the use of ICT, instructor led provision, and accredited work experience to develop vocational and core skills.
4 - Support into employment for some of the group, via work placements, projects and mentor supported career planning, interview skills support and use of 'job club' type services.

Aftercare includes
•  follow up by mentors 4/6 weeks after movement to work to identify any problems
•  introduction to on-line learning and development of a continuing learning plan.

This framework allows us to meet individual needs/barriers while progressing all beneficiaries towards employment, and to bring together local/college/workplace learning within the progression route.

We will also introduce learners to lifelong learning and
•  Provide them with information on developing skills for career progression.
•  Introduce them to using ICT in workplace and lifelong learning.

The new practice tested in this project re both elements will yield lessons for future work in other vocational areas.

275 People will improve their literacy/numeracy skills.
217 will gain a Level 2 award.

Target Group

The project will target economically inactive people (ie those not on JSA and thus ineligible for New Deal) and victims of small-scale redundancies who are not supported under rapid response as well as those in very part time (unemployed under ESF criteria).

The beneficiaries will all be from the priority target groups.